Ardith Elaine Wessler

“Ardie” was born in Peoria on November 10, 1930. She married Max Wessler on June 14, 1953. He survives.

They had three children, Kirk (MaryFran) Wessler of Peoria, Peter (Carol) Wessler of West Peoria, and Tammy (Tom) Eggebrecht of Winter Park, Florida. Kirk and Tammy survive. The family rejoices to know that Ardie is now making music in Heaven with Peter.

Ardie is also survived by nine grandchildren – Joshua (Katie) Wessler of Hanna City; Nathaniel (Heidi) Wessler of Peoria; Luke (Tiffany) Wessler of Ladson, South Carolina; Jonathan (Joy) Wessler of Rockland, Massachusetts; Daniel (Molly) Wessler of Long Beach, California; Andrew (Hayley) Wessler of Argenta, Illinois; Ashlyn (Joshua) Swenson of Winter Park, Florida; Zachary Wessler of Peoria, and Benjamin (Emily) Eggebrecht of Nashville, Tennessee – and 20 great-grandchildren: Annalynn, Benjamin, Colbie, Crosby, Grady, Eden, Ezra, Jonah, Julia, Kolesyn, Leo, Lincoln, Lucas, Lydia, Matthew, Michael, Obadiah, Shayla, Simeon and Zebedee. Also surviving are her niece Susan Mehrings of San Francisco, California, and her brother-in-law Robert Wessler of Holmen, Wisconsin.

In addition to her son Peter, she was also preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Edna Mehrings, and her brother, Willis Mehrings.

Ardie graduated from Peoria High School, salutatorian of the Class of 1948. She was a 1952 graduate of Bradley University, where she was a member of Chi Omega Sorority.

After college, she taught for a year at Whittier School in Peoria before marrying Max. They had met at Bradley during a fraternity-sorority event on the evening of an eclipse of the moon. They were virtually inseparable from then until her passing, and they were married for 71-and-a-half years.

Max’s pursuits dictated the family’s direction and whereabouts, but make no mistake, it was always Ardie – the consummate mother – who kept the household running, provided the transportation in a one-car family, synchronized the schedules, made sure everyone was fed and illnesses were cared for, and on and on … no matter where or how difficult the conditions. She even drove her sons on their newspaper-delivery routes at 5 o’clock in the morning – if the temperature was below zero degrees.

While Max earned his post-graduate degrees, served in the Air Force and spent 40 years on the Bradley University faculty, Ardie ran households in Culver City, California; Dayton, Ohio; Santa Monica, California; West Lafayette, Indiana; Bartlesville, Oklahoma – and, of course, Peoria. She made every place feel like the best home in the world, whether it was a tiny three-room apartment crammed with a family of five, or a big house with five bedrooms, or a cool condo overlooking the Illinois River Valley, or different versions of those.

She loved the house they built on the shore of Deerskin Lake outside Eagle River, Wisconsin. Once Max retired, they spent the warm-weather months there, and Ardie would never want to return until seeing the fall colors peak in early October. She liked going up for several weeks during winter, too, and the two of them enjoyed sharing toboggan rides down the hillside of their property out onto the frozen lake.

Ardie instilled a love and appreciation for music in all her children – as well as in countless piano students she taught in the home for decades. She had a beautiful singing voice, and she was a skilled organist, earning an invitation she was proud to accept to become a member of the Monday Morning Music Club. She was also a member of the American Guild of Organists, played organ for services at Trinity Lutheran Church for nearly 40 years and was head organist there for 25. In fact, she was a key member/advisor for the committee that purchased and oversaw the installation of the massive pipe organ at Trinity in 1977.

Her activities were like the stars: too many to name. She seldom took an actual named leadership role, preferring to roll up her sleeves as another “worker bee.” Den mother or room mother, prayer chains, calligraphy, painting – oh, yes, she could do it all. For the celebration of the 450th anniversary of the Reformation, she meticulously transcribed every one of Martin Luther’s “95 theses” on parchment for a public display. For the sesquicentennial celebration in the village of Arenzville, Illinois (Max’s hometown), she spent days painting a giant reproduction of a photo of the old village schoolhouse for a parade float. She was also an active participant in the Peoria Lutheran WATCH Community, as a table leader, speaker, pianist and prayer-chapel coordinator.

Even after she and Max downsized and moved to Lutheran Hillside Village in early 2021, Ardie would sit down at one of the various pianos at the senior facility and play whatever the Lord moved her to share.

Ardie was not a big talker. But she was a doer, a quiet, gentle soul and a shining example of being “Jesus With Skin On” for others. As a child during the Depression, she had watched her own mother give clothing and food to individuals in need, and she had watched her father work tirelessly to help provide affordable housing in Peoria. As an adult, she would see a need and work to fill it. She didn’t preach, and she didn’t do things to call attention to herself. She just went out and marched in the streets for civil rights and made sure her children knew right from wrong.

She never had a harsh word about anyone. Her strongest expletive was, “darn.” She wouldn’t even use harsher language in quoting what someone else had said.

Her friends are legion, whether they’re still with us or long-ago passed. Ask any of them: Her smile, sweet disposition and hospitality are legendary.

Ardie loved Max, her children and their spouses, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And without exception, they adored her. But she loved Jesus Christ above all, and it was her greatest desire that everyone else would come to know and love the Savior, too.

A private family burial service will be held at Lutheran Cemetery. A memorial celebration of life, open to the public, will be scheduled and announced at a later date. Arrangements are being handled by Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel in Peoria.

The family asks that memorial gifts in Ardith’s name be directed to South Side Mission of Peoria at https://southsidemission.org/donation

Online condolences may be shared with Ardith's family at www.Davison-Fulton.com